How to Make Decision-Making into a Competitive Advantage

Most business leaders I know obsess over their bad decisions. Get over it. You're going to blow some sometimes. Be grateful for the opportunity to learn something. Still...what if you could improve your batting average and make good decisions more often? What if you could decide and move your decisions into action consistently faster than your competitors?

Wouldn't that be a major competitive advantage?

You can. Here's how.

I suggest starting with the assumption that your ability to make decisions is already pretty good or you wouldn't be where you are today. So approach this incrementally rather than working for a big breakthrough. It will be a continuous improvement project - one step at a time, perpetually work-in-process, an eternal journey that never reaches its destination. Isn't that great? That means you can keep getting better! And since your competitors probably are not thinking about decision-making as a strategic skill, even a minor improvement could prove to be a big advantage.

Decision-making has several dimensions - input, process, speed, objectivity, creating alignment, and driving action. Pick one. Work on it a while, get a little better, then move to the next. Repeat.

• Input: early data processors used to say, "Garbage in, garbage out." So it will always be. If the information you use to guide your decisions is mediocre, your decisions won't improve things. Invest in research and analysis. Treat every interaction with customers, colleagues, vendors, etc., as an opportunity to learn more. If you are not innately curious, cultivate curiosity. Approach your business as a Learner, not a Knower, and the quality of your input - and thus your decisions - will greatly improve.
• Process: I have blogged extensively on decision process, including identifying types of decisions, progressing towards the decision, and balancing opposing points of view to reach a superior solution. Based on feedback to these articles, I have concluded that much decision making fails to follow explicit process. How conscious are you and your team of the assumptions underlying the way you make decisions? For many organizations, the biggest upgrade they can make is simply to explicitly define process - things like who needs to be involved with the decision-making, what the decision deadline is, how the decision will be made, etc. When the rules are clear, there is less friction.
• Speed: How fast do you decide? For some, it would be an improvement to take more time. For others, getting off the fence faster would be an improvement. Try tracking your decision making for a few months. How long does it take to reach a decision? What would an extra day have gotten you? What would you have lost by deciding a day sooner? Experiment!
• Objectivity: You have biases. You are not as rational as you think. The more you learn about how you are wired, the better you can compensate. For example, I know I am biased towards trusting my instincts, so I intentionally spend more time on analysis. 
• Creating alignment: Have all stakeholders bought into the decision? Will some opt-out, or even actively work to undermine the decision to prove that they were right? Spend ample time listening to all points of view before deciding, then over-communicate rationale after deciding. Address concerns. Ask for explicit buy in. Rally the team.
• Drive action: The world's best decision is useless without the right plan to implement it. Ensure that someone is responsible and accountable for tactics and execution. Agree how you will measure results, what processes need to be followed, and how this decision impacts other priorities. Get it done. With quality.

A bit of progress here, a bit there, and one day you'll find you are making better decisions more frequently. Is there any bigger game-changer or more important strategic advantage?

Where have you seen decision-making routinely go bad? How can you fix it?